Into The Gloss

Let’s say that you’re “technically young” (so, in your early twenties, though we could argue—to the teeth!—that the thirties are still “technically young,” but for the purpose of this exercise, let’s say your twenties) and have assembled something of a skincare regimen. Within that clutch of products, how many of them are 'anti-aging'? Beyond that, how many anti-aging methods or technologies are you aware of? And how, frankly, worried are you about "signs of aging"? If you’re anything like me or the readers of most fashion magazines (and a fair amount of the commenters on this website), the answers to those questions fall around: several, lots, and very. While “very” may seem like a stretch—most twentysomethings I know don't regularly wear sunscreen; hell, some still smoke and drink and lay out in the sun with abandon—their drugstore purchases and medicine cabinets tell a different story. We're relatively cavalier in our lifestyles, yet packing away products pumped full of retinol and alpha hydroxy acids that promise to "combat loss of radiance" and “lift and firm” things that aren't yet "sagging" or "loose." We are kids in the street and our mothers in the bathroom.